Realogy Investment Pays Off for Apollo

Private-Equity Firm Doubled Its Money on Long Shot

Buying a conglomerate of real-estate brokerages on the eve of the worst housing bust since the Great Depression wouldn't normally seem like a good idea. But Apollo Global Management LLC did just that—and doubled its money.

The private-equity firm's $6 billion-plus deal to take Realogy Holdings Corp. private in April 2007 seemed headed for ruin almost from the start. Within months, the housing market crashed, followed by a...